1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for heating transported materials and in particular to an apparatus and method for continuous heating of carbonaceous materials above the ignition temperature of the carbonaceous materials, such as tunnel kilns, conveyor ovens, or other continuous heating ovens.
2. Background Art
Prior devices for continuous heating or heating of moving materials to high temperatures above normal food cooking temperatures, such as tunnel kilns and conveyor ovens have been used primarily for non carbonaceous materials such as brake linings, tiles, and ceramics. Food cooking ovens typically avoid temperatures above the combustion flash point of any carbonaceous material in the foods to be heated. The use of high temperature tunnel kilns for heating carbonaceous materials has been generally limited to placing the target material in an enclosed casing or muffler that is moved through the oven with the carbonaceous material therein, so that the carbon materials were shielded from direct atmospheric convection heating of the oven. Such prior ovens therefore relied upon conductive heating through the layers of the muffler enclosure. Typically such muffler enclosure devices included a layer of another carbonaceous material such as coke breeze to protect the surface of the carbonaceous materials from oxidation. The entire muffler, coke breeze coating, and the carbonaceous material contained therein all moved together through the oven.